Virtual Reality as a tool has a huge role to play in automobile marketing; and recognizing its potential, carmakers have started to invest heavily in this technology to attract more tech-savvy customers into the showrooms. Audi is one of the first automobile manufacturers to experiment with VR technology. And now the German marque claims to have launched the world’s first fully functional VR system in the automotive retail industry, with the ‘Audi VR experience’ now being introduced in dealerships in Germany, Spain and the UK.

Developed with the help of Intel, the Audi VR experience was first demonstrated at the 2016 Consumer Electrics Show and it allows customers to get a very realistic simulation of how their own personally configured car would look and feel. The system allows customers to select and customize every option on a car. Simply by wearing a VR headset, they can get a complete tour of the car down to small details with a virtual Audi rendered in 360-degree 3D, complete with sound and lighting effects. The system uses an Oculus Rift VR headset for the experience, and Audi has worked with Zerolight to develop the graphics engine required to run the software.